Prayer Flag Project: Day 19, Oh Happy Day

Today's flag is named for the hymn, "Oh Happy Day".  Although this music is more than 100 years old, most of us know it by its Gospel version by the Edwin Hawkins Singers.  I pray that all have the opportunity to lift their voices and sing their own songs... in an environment that encourages religious freedom and cultural expression.

If you have never had the opportunity to hear real gospel, you must seek one out.  I am lucky to have a community gospel choir, The Shoreline Soul, which practices and performs twice yearly under the direction of Angela Clemons.  It is truly a highlight of my year to sing with this amazing director, hear the incredibly close harmonies, and actually clap, move and sing at the same time...  amazing.  I leave the rehearsals exhausted and exhilarated, feeling a release of energy and prayer that can only come through lifting my voice.

The gospel tune was chosen for two reasons:  first, because I love it, and second, because today is June Teenth, the commemoration of the abolition of slavery in Texas, 1865.  Not that long ago...

The flag is made of a scrap of antique quilt which is embroidered by machine with the words, "Oh Happy Day".  The words on the tag read "Teach songs or lead dances for a group" and are clipped from my handy Girl Scout Handbook.  Below is a video of Edwin Haskin singing his famous tune.